Google+ Bets Big on Upcoming Games to Counter Facebook

Search engine giant Google is expected to launch a social gaming network this month to compete with games on Facebook.

The new Google+ games will act as an outlet for gamers and game developers. The Google+ games will also allow developers retaliate against Facebook after it was learned that Facebook’s relationship with the gaming industry leader Zynga had become complicated.

“The Facebook Platform will be integrated into the Zynga Mobile Games and Zynga Properties and FB will be the sole and exclusive Social Platform,” said a clause in the company’s 600-plus-page update of its original IPO document filed previously.

The original document covers topics such as ad revenue agreement and Zynga’s restriction while using Facebook Credits in which the gaming industry leader can sell gift cards, and other strict clauses surrounding the games. Google is one of Zynga’s key investors.

Google is thought to take a less-than 30 percent cut of the revenues from its games, which will break the previous industry standard created by both Facebook and Apple.

The new Google+ games are expected to arrive with major technical differences and the platform has been described as a "native client," where Google will be hosting the games on its own servers and not on the developers'. The games are also expected to arrive with faster game-play and lesser bugs compared to those on Facebook.

Google, however, has declined to comment on the development, according to an All Things D report.

Google+ was launched on June 28, 2011 in an invite-only ‘field testing’ phase. The service has integrated social services such as Google Profiles and Google Buzz, and has introduced new services such as Circles, Hangouts, Sparks, and Huddles. The New York Times have declared it as Google's biggest attempt to rival Facebook, which had over 750 million users in 2011.